Nine Blessings
by nxiro
Summary: "In sickness and in health, we share joy and pain." / story from Blessed Messiah and the Tower of AI by ひとしずくP x やま , one-shot.


**There goes the feels trip once again-**

 **Another angsty Vocaloid song. I love torturing my soul, don't I? (sighs) But yeah, this song is just so damn sad! If you haven't heard of it before, please check it out! It's really good and the song will become really catchy (I'm putting this song on repeat right now), and having 10 Vocaloids singing a song together is definitely something amazing.**

 **I'd like to thank Windblowntravlr-san (guest) for mentioning this song in a review for my story for Datsugoku. Thank you so much! I mean, it's all thanks to you that I found this amazing song! So, thank you so, so much!**

 **Anyways, please enjoy the angst and feels to come.**

* * *

Nine blessings were sealed inside the Tower of AI.

One Messiah was determined by an oracle, and she would be the one to bring a short peace to the world.

Along with nine other companions, the Messiah travels toward the Tower of AI, determined to bring the blessings to the world.

The ten of them often repeated a phrase to each other, a phrase they believed in with their whole hearts:

"In sickness and in health, we share joy and pain."

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Kaito reached out to the first blessing, the "Blooming Wave". His heart pounded in his chest, and he smiled ruefully. He turned to look at the closed door one last time.

He knew he would never be able to return to the world outside those shut doors anymore.

The nine of them already knew it would end this way; in fact, everything was going according to plan.

Miku, their dearest Messiah, would believe that he had taken the blessing all to himself out of greed, and if the others acted according to plan, they would seem as if they were all swallowed up by greed as well. He could still remember the look of disbelief that was frozen on Miku's face when he got to the first blessing before her and pushed her away. She was probably disappointed in him. _It was for the best_ , he told himself. Miku would hate him, and that would be fine. That was the best ending. That was the only way he could protect her.

Kaito took a deep breath and gripped the blessing. He was the eldest of them all, and he was the village chief too. It was his duty to protect the younger ones. That's why he had to go first. He couldn't possibly let his dear friends go through this pain first. He wanted them to live longer, even if it was just for a few more moments. Protecting them was his duty; it was the "older brother"'s duty.

The light from the "Blooming Wave" was overwhelming, and soon Kaito found it hard to breathe. He laughed at how ridiculous his fate was.

Of course. How fitting.

He was drowning.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

As the door closed behind her, Meiko understood what Kaito had felt before her.

Afraid. Insecure. Feverish.

She put her prized sword back where it belonged, and faced the flaming "Fire Banquet", her eyes full of determination. She felt proud of her acting minutes ago; her eyes had blazed with anger as she glared at Miku, a sword pointed straight at their Messiah's head.

 _Sorry, Miku_ , she thought to herself as she reached towards the second blessing. _In the end, this is all I can do for you..._ Meiko, just like Kaito, was one of the eldest ones of the group. Just like Kaito went first as the "elder brother", Meiko decided to go after him, as their "older sister".

She knew everything would be fine, even after she left. The others were true thespians; they all acted merciless and evil in front of their dear Miku. Everything was well.

The blessing was activated, and flames surrounded Meiko. She was burning, dancing, in hellfire. The pain was immense. She gritted her teeth, trying not to make a sound. She couldn't scream; that would ruin everything. As she closed her eyes, she smiled, glad that Miku didn't have to go through this pain.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

IA walked slowly up to the third blessing, the "Grace of the Sunlight". She smiled at the beautiful yellow light that shined in front of her. She was glad she shook off her sister's hand and went next.

It wasn't just Miku she wanted to protect; she wanted to protect Mayu as well.

Her baby sister wasn't ready for all this just yet. That's why she wanted to go before her.

She would be scared, wouldn't she? Mayu would be next, following her. She already knew it. She laughed. _Such an idiot,_ she thought. _My precious sister..._

As she reached towards the light, her life flashed before her eyes. She saw all the precious memories she treasured so much. Those days with Mayu at their bakery, bickering over which type of pastry and bread was best and who was best at their job. Those days with all her other friends on this quest, having fun and making jokes.

 _Goodbye, everyone..._

IA coughed, her throat parched. She helplessly fell to her knees, coughing and wishing for mercy. However, the merciless drought simply ended her suffering by stopping her heartbeat.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

She was such an idiot!

Idiot, idiot, idiot!

Mayu bit back the tears that had started to form, and she ran towards the next room. She heard Miku's desperate voice from behind her, but she did not look back. She reached the next room and the doors closed behind her.

 _IA, you idiot!_ thought Mayu, the tears falling now. _Why did you have to go first? Even if you're older than me..._

 _I wanted to protect you too!_

The tears still running down her cheeks, Mayu reached towards the fourth blessing, the "Peaceful Darkness". She closed her eyes as the light shone brightly before her.

 _Wait for me, IA... I'll be coming soon._

When she opened her eyes once again, she was plunged into lonely, merciless darkness. She looked around, but she was unable to see anything.

"IA?" she called into the darkness. There was no response. Mayu started to feel scared now. She was losing her mind. "IA? IA, answer me! IA!" she yelled, but there was still no response from her dearest sister. She fell to the ground, crying.

"Where are you?" she whispered. "Onee-chan...?"

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

The purple-haired priest closed his eyes and entwined his fingers. He looked up at the shining fifth blessing, the "Trembling Ground".

"Dearest Gumi, Luka, Rin, and Len, I wish you the best of luck." He whispered, as he looked straight into the light. These prayers were not only for his friends, but for this "blessing" as well. "Dearest Kaito, Meiko, IA, and Mayu, I'll meet you soon, so hang on for just a bit longer." Gakupo took a deep breath.

"And lastly, dearest Miku..." he said. "You are the Messiah, the next honorable one. The oracles have determined so. You carry the weight of humanity's fate on your shoulders. Miku, you are our only hope."

Will she be alright? Gakupo still remembered Miku's attempts to bring the group back together.

 _"I am the chosen one...!"_ Miku had said, her beautiful green eyes full of fear and betrayal.

 _"You can't keep it all to yourself."_ Gakupo had said, a sinister smile plastered on his face. Gumi stood next to him, a similar expression on her own face.

 _"We won't let you do that."_ she had said, glaring at Miku. Their Messiah's eyes filled with tears.

 _"Can greed really change a person so much?"_ she had cried out. Gakupo smiled, and faced his atonement. The earth beneath him collapsed, and Gakupo was swallowed up whole.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

The sixth blessing, the "Rumble of Thunder", was what Gumi faced. In her hand was an open book, full of the poems she loved. She was a poet, after all, and these poems were important for her.

"The "Rumble of Thunder", is it...?" she said to nobody in particular. She laughed. She was going to get hit by lightning, wasn't she? Flipping through her book, she found a particular poem she liked relating to her punishment.

"Miku-chan, we all love you so much. Kaito, Meiko-san, IA-chan, Mayu-chan, Gakupo, and I... We all love you so much. And not just us. The ones with you now, Luka, Rin, and Len, they all love you too. We're a big family, Miku-chan. That's why..." A tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke. "We won't let you go alone!"

She wiped away the tear and faced the sixth blessing. She reached towards the light as she started humming her poem. This was her way to end.

As the lightning struck her, she smiled, and closed her eyes forever.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Luka was faced with the seventh blessing, the "Rondo of Whirlwind". She flipped her ponytail back and clenched her fists. To be honest, acting had tired her out. She was a dancer, not an actor; seeing everyone act so evil, even though she knew it wasn't real, scared her just a bit.

In truth, she wanted to hold Miku in her arms, tell her it'll be alright. But the only thing she could do for her now was act horrible and take the next blessing as fast as she could.

 _The kind Miku would be falling apart now, wouldn't she?_ Luka thought. _She would be thinking all her friends had left her and if everyone's against her._ She laughed. That stupid girl. She's such an idiot.

They would never leave her. They loved her too dearly for that.

As she reached out towards her fate, she danced to pass the time. This would be the last dance in her life; she had to make it a "grande finale" before the curtains dropped.

Wind started to blow around her, and it was getting stronger by the second. She closed her eyes and swayed along to the whirlwind that tore her apart.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

"No, RIN!" yelled Len, as the doors closed behind her. Rin turned back and did her best attempt at a malicious expression, but she couldn't hold back the visible tears. As the doors shut, she sighed. That would be Len and Miku's last glance of her, wouldn't it? She didn't want it to end this way...

But that was great. Miku would think those were tears of joy, and it would all end well.

In truth, this shouldn't have been her punishment. The eight blessing, the "Garden of Silver Snow", wasn't supposed to be hers; it was supposed to be Len's. He had told her to stay with Miku until the end the day before, and she had agreed. Seconds ago, Len was ready to step up to the blessing, but Rin pushed him out of the way and went for it herself. Len's desperate expression that was full of despair was still fresh in her mind.

But this was the right thing to do. She was the elder sister, after all. She wanted to protect her younger brother.

She laughed. If Len were here, he would retort with something like, "Only by a few minutes!" Which was true. If Len was older, things might have been different.

What would Len be doing now...?

Twins were curious things, weren't they? Even though they look the same, they're totally different people. However even so, the love between them doesn't change. Rin didn't want to admit it, but she loved her twin brother more than anything.

In reality, she wanted to be with him a little longer...

As she reached towards the eight blessing, the tears that fell out of her eyes froze, and so did her soul.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

"What are you doing, Len-kun?" Miku's eyes were wide with disbelief as Len ran into the ninth and last room. Gritting his teeth, Len forced himself to act evil. It had to be done.

"You're really an idiot, aren't you, Miku?" he asked, smiling maliciously. "I can't believe you still haven't realized it."

"Realized... Realized what?" she asked, on the verge of tears.

"The fact that I tricked you! You were tricked! By me!" said Len, laughing. He turned and walked into the room, and the doors started closing.

"But what about going together? You said you won't betray me, Len-kun! You promised!" said Miku, tears streaming down her face. Len clenched his fists, but he kept acting.

"Bye, Miku!" he said, smiling evilly yet proudly. "And may we never meet again." The doors shut, and Len fell to his knees.

"I'm sorry, Miku..." he whispered. He stood up and faced the ninth and last blessing, the "Fetal Movement of Magma".

"Rin, you idiot." he said. "Why did you have to go before me? I wanted you to live longer, even if it was only a few more minutes, a few more seconds..." He reached out towards the light. He felt proud of himself. He had tricked Miku. No, he had saved Miku, just like the others did. He closed his eyes as the fire approached him.

"Everyone, sorry to keep you waiting. I'm coming."

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Upon realizing the truth, Miku fell to her knees, crying. Her friends weren't greedy; in fact, they were the exact opposite. They were so selfless, and so, so kind. They had taken the nine punishments she was supposed to receive, and one by one, they had fallen to the ground lifelessly.

She raised the torch, and it lit up in flames immediately. She hardly payed attention to what was happening in front of her. Instead, she trapped herself in her own thoughts.

Kaito, the eldest "brother" who always acted as the leader, had drowned. Meiko, the elder "sister" that treated everyone with kindness, had danced through hellfire. IA, the friendly girl that always helped everyone else, had fallen to her knees in merciless drought. Mayu, the mischievous younger sister of IA, was trapped in the darkness forever. Gakupo, the jokester that always made them laugh, was swallowed up by the earth. Gumi, the energetic girl that cheered people up with her presence, had been struck by lightning. Luka, the mature girl that always offered wise words, was torn up by a hurricane. Rin, the lively twin sister that always smiled, was frozen to the bones and the soul. Len, the cute twin brother that was sometimes stubborn, had been burnt by fire.

Her precious friends, her _family_ , they were all gone. They had sacrificed them for her. A laugh escaped from her mouth.

The Tower of AI indeed. Not of "love", but of "sorrow".

Nine blessings? Miku laughed. Those weren't blessings. Her friends' sacrifices were the true blessings, not the atonements. Miku smiled and reached for the altar. Before her vision went black, she whispered one last sentence:

"In sickness and in health, we share joy and pain."

* * *

 **I hope you've enjoyed that. Vocaloids don't have fixed "personalities" so it's really up to the author to interpret, and this is how I interpret their personalities, so I hope you guys are fine with that. I hope there's nothing too "wrong" about their personalities... I hope you liked this angsty story, and be sure to leave a review! See you!**

 **~Chinnie Ai**


End file.
